Team Rubicon

As this week draws to a close we reflect back upon the devastating events of Hurricane Sandy. The destruction left in the wake of this storm is epic in proportion, but so is the resiliency of the communities hit. Among the horror we find hope, and with hope we find a way forward.

Team Rubicon's incredible volunteers and regional leaders have been working tirelessly since Saturday, doing everything from rescue ops, to shelter management and debris removal. Their efforts show the incredible potential our nation's veterans have to be stalwarts in our neighborhoods across the nation.

In the coming days Team Rubicon will launch its boldest, most ambitious operation ever. By this time next week we hope to have 1,000 military veterans move into affected communities to lead recovery efforts and establish a battle plan to return to normalcy. Street by street, home by home; It will be Fallujah, but with chainsaws and shovels instead of tanks and rifles.

Never before have we needed your help as much as we do now. The success of this operation will depend on our ability to equip, feed, and house these men and women. The support of TR Nation will be critical, just as it was in the days after the Haiti Earthquake.

With your support, we can do this. We have issued a call to action. Will you answer?

"Team Rubicon are on a mission to empower 250 returning veterans to use their skills as first responders in disaster relief. If you enjoy this video, please support the cause by sharing, or donating at www.omaze.com."

Team Rubicon and Omaze are partnering to raise money to empower 250 veterans to become first responders for Team Rubicon and to raise awareness about Team Rubicon.

This raffle, for donations of $5 or more, allows Team Rubicon supporters the chance to engage in once-in-a-lifetime experiences that simply cannot be bought or obtained in any other way.

The charity raffle kicks off on July 3rd and runs through August 3rd with new offerings every week. The raffles will offer drinking with celebrities and hanging out on sets of your favorite shows or playing RISK with one of the best strategic minds of our generation and doing some really incredible things...

In Indiana alone yesterday: 15 known dead, at least 17 tornadoes,11 counties are disaster areas. Indiana, though, is not alone. There were 76 known/confirmed tornadoes nationwide, and the devastation is just starting to be cataloged.

Help those who are helping those who need it the most right now: Team Rubicon. There will be other needs later, but first response needs all you can give.

MissionOn Sunday, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the city of Van in Turkey; immediate death tolls are expected to rise above 1,000 as rescue workers continue to dig through the rubble. Initial reports are that local hospitals have been overwhelmed with casualties, and small rural communities in the surrounding hills lack easy access and communication. Over the course of the next week, weather is expected to worsen, with temperatures dipping to near freezing and rain or snow expected beginning Wednesday; this will hamper an already difficult rescue effort.

Yesterday, Team Rubicon deployed an initial scout team to Van consisting of two elite Air Force Special Operations Pararescuemen (PJs), Joshua Webster and Nathan Schmidt, and Team Rubicon's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. John Sutter. Both Webster and Schmidt have significant training in Search and Rescue operations, including Confined Space/Structural Collapse.

The team will hit the ground running in Van, immediately sending back a report to HQ and advising on whether full follow-on teams are necessary. Once established, the team will be able to assist and advise local authorities in survivor recovery efforts.

If necessary, Team Rubicon is on standby to send larger medical and rescue teams. Follow the team's progress as it happens on the TR blog.

Other Ways to Help Pass it on! Forward this post to your friends at work, members of your church, your extended family. Share it! Post this news to Facebook, spread it on Twitter.

...On August 28th TR deployed a two-man advance team to conduct a pre-deployment site survey of the southern Punjab region. On arrival the team met with the PMA, secured transportation and lodging, and identified safe routes of travel for the arriving team. Once the main body arrived three days later, TR set out to flood affected areas near the town of Muzzafargarh. Along with a well-trained and motivated group of Pakistani doctors, TR was able to set up daily clinics and treat more than 1,000 people per day...

Here's the latest update from Team Rubicon's Pakistan Team Leader, William McNulty:

The Team Rubicon Pakistan mission is in many ways a pilot program for
American medical professionals who are apprehensive about working in
this country. Over the past few days TR has treated over 2,500 patients
in various parts of southern Punjab, an area devastated by the floods
and resulting water-borne disease. We treated patients for heat stroke,
malaria, multi-drug resistant TB, scabies, boils, diarrhea, and severe
dehydration. We were able to reach remote villages because we developed a
local partner who facilitated our entry, security, and other logistical
needs. Dr. Eduardo Dolhun noted that many of his colleagues wanted to
travel to Pakistan but were just too scared to commit. Given the
barriers to entry, including fear, I think we’ve proved that developing a
trusted local partner – in conjunction with local security forces – is a
safe way to bring medical relief to the 20 million plus Pakistani
people who have lost their homes due to the flooding crisis. God knows
they need it.

William McNultyTeam LeaderTR Pakistan

Be sure to check TR's blog with all of the updates (but a warning, as with Haiti, some of the photos are not for the weak hearted). When you donate to TR, this is what is done with your hard earned money - TR saves lives.

TR members working with/teaching Pakistani children on how to stay healthy during the floods.

Out of scalpels due to the amount of boils TR has seen. Used 14 gauge
needle to lance 3 boils on this girls face. “7 year old girl with
multiple boils on her head. Very anxious and screaming when she arrived.
Premedicated with augmentin and diazepam” says Dr. Dolhun.

With disease, flooding, and of course, extremist elements, TR is doing the best that they can to help the people of Pakistan. Go here to read more.

Dr. Eduardo Dolhun of Stanford reached out to TR to provide security
for this mission. The emphasis on security is highlighted by the recent
order by the Taliban to attack foreign aid workers. The team is
composed of veterans - former Army SF, former Navy Seals, former Army Infantry, and
former Marine.

Dr. Dolhun has a proprietary oral rehydration solution (ORS) called
Drip Drop that is used to treat cholera, dehydration, and disease. TR is
going to remote areas to, not only deliver the ORS solution, but train
people how to make it with locally available resources. Indigenizing the
solution is the end goal of this mission, so that those that TR trains are less
of a burden on the already stretched thin government and NGOs. Dolhun is
Mayo Clinic trained and educated, and he deployed with TR in Haiti. He
is an expert at treating cholera so TR's mission matches up well with the
conditions on the ground. TR is carrying enough solution to treat up
to 8,000 refugees. Dolhun wants to identify a solid partner on the
ground so more ORS can be shipped in after TR's departure.

I believe that Hugh Hewitt will have an exclusive with Team Rubicon who will be on his show live from Pakistan.

Search

The Authors

Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, "Blackfive" started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved. Email: blackfive AT gmail DOT com

Instapinch
Bill Paisley, otherwise known as Pinch, is a 22 year (ongoing) active and
reserve naval aviator. He blogs over at www.instapinch.com on a veritable
cornucopia of various and sundry items and will bring a tactical naval
aviator's perspective to Blackfive. Readers be warned: any comments of or
about the F-14 Tomcat will be reverential and spoken in low, hushed tones.
Email: wpaisley AT comcast DOT net

Mr. Wolf has over 26 years in the Army, Army NG, and USAR. He’s Airborne with 5 years as an NCO, before becoming an officer. Mr. Wolf has had 4 company commands. Signal Corp is his basic branch, and Public Affairs is his functional area. He recently served 22 straight months in Kuwait and Iraq, in Intel, PA, and senior staff of MNF-I. Mr. Wolf is now an IT executive. He is currently working on a book on media and the Iraq war. Functional gearhead.

In Iraq, he received the moniker of Mr. Wolf after the Harvey Kietel character in Pulp Fiction, when "challenges" arose, they called on Mr. Wolf...
Email: TheDOTMrDOTWolfAT gmail DOT com

Deebow is a Staff Sergeant and a Military Police Squad Leader in the Army National Guard. In a previous life, he served in the US Navy. He has over 19 years of experience in both the Maritime and Land Warfare; including deployments to Southwest Asia, Thailand, the South Pacific, South America and Egypt. He has served as a Military Police Team Leader and Protective Services Team Leader and he has served on assignments with the US State Department, US Air Force Security Police, US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He recently spent time in Afghanistan working with, training and fighting alongside Afghan Soldiers and is now focused on putting his 4 year Political Science degree to work by writing about foreign policy, military security policy and politics.

McQ has 28 years active and reserve service. Retired. Infantry officer. Airborne and Ranger. Consider my 3 years with the 82nd as the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. Interests include military issues and policy and veteran's affairs.
Email: mcq51 -at - bellsouth -dot- net

Tantor is a former USAF navigator/weapon system officer (WSO) in F-4E Phantoms who served in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is now a curmudgeonly computer geek in Washington, DC, picking the taxpayers pocket. His avocations are current events, aviation, history, and conservative politics.

Twenty-three years of Active and Reserve service in the US Army in SF (18B), Infantry and SOF Signal jobs with operational deployments to Bosnia and Africa. Since retiring he's worked as Senior Defense Analyst on SOF and Irregular Warfare projects and currently ensconced in the emerging world of Cyberspace.

The Authors Emeritus

Major Pain --
A Marine who began his blog in Iraq and reflects back on what he learned there and in Afghanistan. To the point opinions, ideas and thoughts on military, political and the media from One Marine’s View.Email: onemarinesview AT yahoo DOT com

Uber Pig was an Infantryman from late 1991 until early 1996, serving with Second Ranger Battalion, I Corps, and then 25th Infantry Division. At the time, the Army discriminated against enlisted soldiers who wanted use the "Green to Gold" program to become officers, so he left to attend Stanford University. There, he became expert in detecting, avoiding, and surviving L-shaped ambushes, before dropping out to be as entrepreneurial as he could be. He is now the founder of a software startup serving the insurance and construction industries, and splits time between Lake Tahoe, Boonville, and San Francisco, CA.

Uber Pig writes for Blackfive a) because he's the proud brother of an enlisted Civil Affairs Reservist who currently serves in Iraq, b) because he looks unkindly on people who make it harder for the military in general, and for his brother in particular, to succeed at their missions and come home in victory, and c) because the Blackfive readers and commenters help keep him sane.

COB6 spent 24 years in the active duty Army that included 5 combat tours with service in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 1st Special Forces Group . COB6 was enlisted (E-7) and took the OCS route to a commission. COB6 retired a few years back as a field grade Infantry officer.
Currently COB6 has a son in the 82nd Airborne that just returned from his third tour and has a newly commissioned daughter in the 4th Infantry Division.